Burial vault



Nov. 25, 1941. L, F, LANG .2.264',o41

BURIAL VAULT Filed Nov. gs, 1939 2 Sheets-She et 1 INVENTOR Lawrence E Lang A? 1 MHM L. F. LANG BURIAL VAULT Nov. 25, 1941.

Filed Nov. 28, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 Y ang INVENTOR Lawrence F L a A Patented Nov. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- BURIAL VAULT Lawrence F. Lang, Butler, Pa. Application November 28, 1939, Serial No. 306,480

1 Claim. -(01. 2735) tective materialsuch as asphalt and to apply a surface layer of a cellulosic material or the like over the asphalt, to improve the appearance of the vault. It is important, both from the standpoint of appearance and preserving the protective coating, that there be no breaks or fractures therein. It has been difficult to avoidsuch breaks heretofore because of the considerable weight of the vaults, the diffioulty in handling and transporting them; and the fact that they have to be disposed relatively close together as for storage or shipment,

I have invented a self contained unit applicable to vaults of various kinds, which facilitates the handling and transportation thereof to an extent such that the possibility of injuring the protective coating is greatly minimized. In addition, in'its preferred form, the invention has a substantial stiffening or bracing efiect on the vault. Portions of the unit, furthermore, are adapted to support the casket in the vault, even after failure of the normal support therefor.

In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises spaced longitudinal members adapted to be secured to the pan or bottom member of an air-sealed vault. These members provide bearings for transverse rollers journaled therein which serve to facilitate handling of the vault by permitting it to be rolled along the floor of a storage warehouse or a supporting shelf therein. The invention is applicable to various types of vaults, i. e., metal and concrete, and to different forms thereof such as the box-type as well as the air-sealed type. The preferred embodiment and certain modifications will be described in detail herebelow with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating typical forms thereof. In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of an airsealed vault having the invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view along the line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the vault and the rollers with a protective layer of asphalt thereon;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view to enlarged scale showing the details of the protective layer on the rollers;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the application of the invention to a box-type vault;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of the invention adapted for use in concrete vault of the air-sealed type;

Fig. 8 is a partial bottom plan View of the structure shown in Fig, 7; and I.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of roller.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and, for the present, to Figs. 1 through 3, the vault It comprises a base or pan I I and a-dome I2 adapted to be disposed thereon, both being drawn from sheet metal of suitable gauge, The pan II has an angular flange l3 around the entire periphery thereof providing a drop seat for an out-turned flange I4 at the bottom edge of the dome I2. In use, the pan II is disposed in the grave and provides a support for the casket indicated at-I5. The dome I2, when lowered into place, provides an air-tight bai lie which preeludes the rise of water above the level of the pan I I,

The form of my invention adapted for the airsealed type of vault described comprises a pair of longitudinal members such as angle bars I6 fitted around the inner side of the angular flange I3. The angle bars I6 are preferably long enough to provide a stiffening or bracing effect on the pan although short lengths of angle bars, in the form of brackets, may be employed if the stiffening effect of the longer members'is not needed. The bars I6 are spot-welded to the flange I3 as at I! but may be secured thereto inany other convenient manner. I

Rollers I8 are journaled in the bars I6 before the latter are assembled with the pan II. As shown in the drawings, the rollers are of such size as to extend downwardly'below the flange I3 and the bars I6, whereby the vault maybe rolled along a floor such as that'of a truck or along a storage shelf, thus facilitating handling of the vault prior to use and minimizing'the possibility of marring its surface. The rollers I8 may be of any suitable construction. A suitable form is shown in Fig. 3 and constitutes a length of pipe I9 having discs 20 welded in each end thereof. Each disc 20 is provided with a trunnion 2| welded therein, the bars I6 being drilled to provide bearings for the trunnions.

As stated, the invention is particularly useful in connection with vaults having a protective layer thereon. It is not limited thereto, however, but may be utilized in uncoated vaults as shown in Figs. 1 through 3. Fig. 4 illustrates the invention as applied to a vault similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and having a protective layer of asphalt 22 extending entirely over the exterior of the pan H and the dome l2. In applying the invention to a coated vault, the rollers [8 should also be coated as indicated at 23. Fig. 5 is a partial section showing the details of the protective layer. 7 The metal section is indicated at 24. The asphalt layer 25 may be applied by dipping or the like. The rollers may be coated after assembly with the pan by dipping the entire assembly or each portion may be coated separately as desired. In either case, precautions should be taken to insure that the rollers rotate freely in their bearings after the coating has been applied. The asphalt used should be of a high degree of purity and preferably of such character as to maintain a tacky condition indefinitely. Asphalt having these qualities is available in the open market.

The asphalt layer 25 is covered with a sheet 26 of any suitable material such as building paper, copper sheet, Cellophane or the like. It will be understood that the asphalt bonds to the surface of the metal section. Similarly, the surface sheet 26 bonds with the asphalt and provides a non-tacky surface for contact with the floor or shelf on which the vault is disposed.

Fig. 6 illustrates a form of the invention suitable for box-type vaults such as indicated at 21. For vaults of this type, I provide angle bars 28 having rollers 29 journaled therein. The bars 28, like the bars l6, may be of considerable length, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be short sections constituting separate bearing brackets. The construction is otherwise similar to that already described. A protective coating is preferably applied to the vault 21, the bars 28 and rollers 29 as described above. The vault 21 is preferably coated with protective material inside and out.

A further form of the invention suitable for application to concrete vaults is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. A vault 30 of the air-sealed type comprises a bottom ring 3|, floor slabs 32 and a dome 33. The bottom ring 3| has bearing brackets 34 embedded therein during the casting or pouring operation. The brackets 34 provide bearings for rollers 35. The rollers 35 may conveniently comprise a pipe length 35 having end plugs 31 welded therein. The plugs are drilled to receive trunnions 38. Springs 39 compressed behind the trunnions normally urge them outwardly. By this construction, the rollers may be assembled with the bottom ring 3| after the pouring of the latter. The trunnion at one end of a roller is first inserted in its bearing bracket and both trunnions are then forced inwardly of the plugs 31 to permit the trunnion at the other end to be lined up with its bearing whereupon the spring displaces the second trunnion and seats it in a bearing bracket. Sufficient clearance for the seating of the trunnions may in fact be provided if only one trunnion is made movable with a seating spring and the other trunnion is fixed, in the same manner as the trunnion 2|.

For box-type concrete vaults, a construction similar to that of Fig. 6 may be resorted to except that the bearing brackets are embedded in the bottom or box member.

Fig. 9 illustrates a slight modification of the construction shown in Figs. 1 through 3. In the modified construction, a shaft 40 extends between the bars 16 and has rollers 4| journaled thereon. A spacer sleeve 42 which may comprise a short length of pipe, is disposed on the shaft between the rollers.

The rollers shown in Figs. 7 and 9 are provided with a protective coating of asphalt when the vaults with which they are used are so treated but may even be asphalt coated though the vaults themselves are not.

It will be apparent from the foregoing descrip tion that the invention provides means for facilitating the handling of heavy vaults which is a great advantage in shipping and storage. The ease of handling which is made possible by the invention is particularly important in connection with asphalt coated vaults since it reduces the possibility of damage to the coating in handling, thereby preserving the appearance of the vault and, what is more important, the protective effect of .the coating. The invention also has numerous other advantages. The rollers provide a support for the vault when it is placed in the grave and tend to limit settling, by virtue of their substantial area of contact with the earth. A further advantage is that the rollers remain effective as supports for the casket, even should the pan of an air-sealed vault of the bottom of a box-type vault fail after a long period of time. In the case of the air-sealed type vault, the rollers would support the casket above the water line should the pan deteriorate. This applies to both metal and concrete vaults. The invention also facilitates the movement of the vault from a truck to the grave without injury to the cemetery lawn, and adjustment of the vault in the grave.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment with a few modifications, it will be understood that changes in the construction and arrangement of parts herein disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

Iclaim:

An attachment for a burial vault base having itsedge-s bent downwardly and outwardly forming a flange of angle section, said attachment comprising a pair. of spaced angle-bars, rollers journaled in said bars at points spaced along the length thereof, said angle-bars being so spaced as to receive the flange of the vault base whereby said angle-bars are held in predetermined spaced relation, and said rollers being of a length substantially equal to the spacing between said angle-bars and adapted to support a vault for movement over a floor or the like.

LAWRENCE F. LANG. 

